Continuing to develop their Indigenous learning program, St Canice's Primary Katoomba will be holding a meet and greet event for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families from Katoomba and surrounds.
The school, which is holding the day on November 20, is proud of its connections with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community including local Elders Aunty Carol Cooper OAM and Uncle Chris Tobin.
Families will be able to enjoy a cuppa, a yarn and enjoy a tour of the school along with meeting the Principal, Aunty Carol and staff, including diversity teacher Rosemary Gillespie, who brings to the school years of experience working with Indigenous communities.
"I regularly consult with Uncle Chris and Aunty Alexa Watanabe, Kindergarten, with Aunty Carol about the work that we've been doing," said Ms Gillespie.
"Their hopes are that children have an appreciation and an understanding of the environment, the Blue Mountains and themselves as global citizens so they can make informed choices about their role in the world as custodians, because we're all custodians of this land."
Ms Gillespie, who spent seven years living and working in Arnhem Land, the Kimberley region, Broome, the Torres Strait Islands and remote parts of the Cape York Peninsula, will take up a new role as the school's Indigenous education teacher in 2024.
Under the guidance of Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese's Jarara Cultural Centre, St Canice's recently completed the first term of a new Sky Country Dreaming Indigenous education program.
"This is about developing understanding and respect among our children for our Aboriginal people, their knowledge and skills, and how they have created and cared for our land," Principal Miriam Meaney said.
The school hosts regular cultural events for NAIDOC Week, Sorry Day, National Recognition Week, as well as Three Sisters Immersion Day and cultural talks and presentations from local Elders.
"St Canice's is the place to be for our Indigenous families. It is a school that has invested so much in developing a culture of understanding about our Indigenous culture and history," said Ms Meaney.
"It is a school that will say Yes to Indigenous families who want to enrol their children and will ensure they can get an excellent education without parents having to worry about the cost."
Learn more about the Jarara program
Blue Mountains Gazette
Katoomba news, sport and weather.
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22 Jul 2026
Little Learners - School Readiness Program
Little Learners is St Canice’s School’s fun, free, play-based school readiness program designed for children aged 3.5–5 years who will be starting school in the next 1–2 years.07 Aug 2025
St Canice's Brekky Club
All students are invited to join the St Canice's Brekky Club. Brekky Club will now run on Thursdays – 7th, 21st, and 28th August.
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27 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🐣 EGG-CITING NEWS IN STAGE 1! 🐣 We’re absolutely eggs-static to announce the safe and healthy arrival of SIX adorable little chicks this morning! 🐥💛 A huge congratulations to Ms Clarke and the Stage 1 team on welcoming these fluffy little bundles of joy into the world. We think there may have been a few extra peeps of excitement today! 😂🐣 Our Stage 1 students are learning all about living things and how to care for them. What better way to bring their learning to life than with some very cute, very fluffy and very pecky new arrivals? 🥰 We’re sure there will be plenty of chick chat over the coming days as our students watch these little ones grow! Welcome to the world, little chicks! We can’t wait to watch you grow! 🐥🌱💛 #StCanices #Stage1 #EggcitingNews22 Oct 2026
From Facebook
💧 Water Safety at St Canice’s! 💦 Today, our students enjoyed a water safety presentation delivered by Becca, a representative from Blue Mountains City Council. With the warmer weather approaching and more opportunities to enjoy our beautiful local waterways, it was perfect timing to learn about the importance of staying safe in and around water. 🌊☀️ A big thank you to Becca and Blue Mountains City Council for sharing these important safety messages with our students! Stay safe, stay water wise! 💙 #StCanicesKatoomba #WaterSafety #BlueMountainsCityCouncil #StudentWellbeing #StayWaterWise
MORE NEWS
27 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🐣 EGG-CITING NEWS IN STAGE 1! 🐣 We’re absolutely eggs-static to announce the safe and healthy arrival of SIX adorable little chicks this morning! 🐥💛 A huge congratulations to Ms Clarke and the Stage 1 team on welcoming these fluffy little bundles of joy into the world. We think there may have been a few extra peeps of excitement today! 😂🐣 Our Stage 1 students are learning all about living things and how to care for them. What better way to bring their learning to life than with some very cute, very fluffy and very pecky new arrivals? 🥰 We’re sure there will be plenty of chick chat over the coming days as our students watch these little ones grow! Welcome to the world, little chicks! We can’t wait to watch you grow! 🐥🌱💛 #StCanices #Stage1 #EggcitingNews
22 Oct 2026
From Facebook
💧 Water Safety at St Canice’s! 💦 Today, our students enjoyed a water safety presentation delivered by Becca, a representative from Blue Mountains City Council. With the warmer weather approaching and more opportunities to enjoy our beautiful local waterways, it was perfect timing to learn about the importance of staying safe in and around water. 🌊☀️ A big thank you to Becca and Blue Mountains City Council for sharing these important safety messages with our students! Stay safe, stay water wise! 💙 #StCanicesKatoomba #WaterSafety #BlueMountainsCityCouncil #StudentWellbeing #StayWaterWise
22 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🍳🥣 BREKKY CLUB IS BACK! 🥛🍎 Join us at St Canice’s Brekky Club on Thursday, 29 October! 💙💛 📅 Thursday, 29 October 2026 ⏰ 8:20 am – 8:40 am 📍 In the School Hall All St Canice’s students are welcome to come along, enjoy a yummy breakfast and start their school day feeling happy and ready to learn! 🥰 We look forward to seeing you there! 🐦💙
22 Oct 2026
From Facebook
📣 REMINDER: WHOLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY TOMORROW! 💙 Dear St Canice’s Families, A friendly reminder that we will be holding our Whole School Assembly tomorrow morning at 8:50 am. We look forward to coming together as a school community to celebrate our students and their achievements! 🌟 We hope to see you there!
20 Oct 2026
From Facebook
Our Stage 1 Mathematicians have been busy learning how to gather and organise data! We surveyed each other on what ultimate superpower we’d choose if we could have one, using tally marks to carefully record everyone's answers in a table. It turns out we have some pretty amazing heroes in our classroom—and some top-notch data collection skills! What superpower would your child choose? Let us know in the comments! 👇📊
20 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🎨🌈 Creative Little Artists at St Canice’s! 🌈🎨 Our Kindergarten students have been exploring the wonderful world of watercolour painting with our specialist art teacher, Ms Dani! 🖌️💛 It’s been lovely to see our Kinders experimenting with colours, expressing their creativity and bringing their imaginations to life through art. Every masterpiece is unique! 🖼️✨ We love seeing our students learn, create and grow through these wonderful artistic experiences. Well done, Kindergarten artists! 🎨👏 #StCanicesKatoomba #Kindergarten #CreativeLearning #WatercolourArt #LittleLyrebirds #ArtAtStCanices
20 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🏉 AFL Clinic at St Canice’s! 💙❤️ What a fantastic day at St Canice’s! Our students took part in an exciting AFL clinic today, developing their footy skills, practising teamwork and sportsmanship, and most importantly, having lots of fun! 🏃♀️🏃♂️ It was wonderful to see everyone getting involved, giving new skills a go and enjoying an active day together. A big thank you to everyone who helped make today’s clinic possible! 👏 #StCanicesKatoomba #AFL #ActiveKids #Teamwork
20 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🐦💙 Little Lyrebirds Free Playgroup is on tomorrow! 💛🎨 Looking for a fun morning for your little one? Come along to our FREE Little Lyrebirds Playgroup tomorrow, Wednesday, from 9:00am–10:30am at St Canice’s Primary School, Katoomba! Our playgroup is a wonderful opportunity for children aged 0–6 years to play, explore, create and connect with other families in a welcoming school environment. 🌈 ✨ Enjoy: 🎨 Arts, crafts and creative activities 📚 Stories and songs 🎶 Music and games 🧸 Playtime and new friendships ☕️ A relaxed morning with other local families Whether you’re a regular visitor or joining us for the first time, we’d love to see you there! 📍 St Canice’s Primary School, 158 Katoomba Street, Katoomba ⏰ Tomorrow, 9:00am–10:30am 💙 FREE – everyone is welcome! Bring the little ones and come along for a lovely morning of fun, friendship and learning! 🐦 #LittleLyrebirds #StCanicesKatoomba #FreePlaygroup #BlueMountainsFamilies #PlayLearnGrow
20 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🎭 Drama at St Canice’s! 🎭 Lights, camera, action! 🌟 Our students enjoy Drama with Ms Dani every week, building confidence, creativity and communication skills while exploring their imaginations, expressing themselves and having fun together. Through drama, our students develop teamwork, problem-solving skills and the confidence to shine both on and off the stage! 🎬✨ At St Canice’s, every child has the opportunity to discover their talents and let their creativity shine! 💙 #StCanicesKatoomba #CreativeLearning #Drama #ConfidentLearners #LittleLyrebirds
14 Oct 2026
From Facebook
📅 SAVE THE DATE! Our Year 6 Graduation and End-of-Year Mass will be held on Wednesday 25 November 2026 at 9:30 am. We look forward to coming together as a school community to celebrate the end of the school year and acknowledge our Year 6 graduates. More details to follow. 💙💙
08 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🐦💛 Little Lyrebirds Playgroup is back! 💛🐦 We’re excited to welcome our Little Lyrebirds families back for Term 4! 🌿✨ 📅 Wednesday 14 October ⏰ 9:00am – 10:30am 📍 St Canice’s Primary School, Katoomba Come along for a morning of play, music, creativity, stories and fun with our wonderful Little Lyrebirds community. 🎶🎨📚 We look forward to seeing all our little Lyrebirds and their grown-ups for another wonderful term of fun and friendship! 🥰🫶 Everyone is welcome! 💙💛
28 Sep 2026
Celebrating 40 years of Voice of Youth and the power of student voice
Six Year 6 students from 58 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) Primary schools came together at St John XXIII Catholic College Stanhope Gardens on 22 September for the Voice of Youth Grand Final, showcasing their public speaking skills through a series of thoughtful and engaging speeches.
24 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Stage 1 presented their learning about the Great Barrier reef to the school today. Each class came down with their teachers to hear all the amazing facts about the Great Barrier Reef and why it is so important that we look after the largest living structure in the world! Everyone was so impressed with their hard work and Stage 1 were so proud to show off their efforts! Great job stage 1! The work will be on display in the library before school on Friday morning and parents are invited to come in and look at the work and then take the reef boxes home.
23 Sep 2026
From Facebook
🥁 Thank you, Emily, for an incredible day of drumming! 🥁 On Monday, our Kindy to Year 6 students had the absolute pleasure of drumming with Emily, and what a wonderful experience it was! ❤️ Emily shared such beautiful words about our school community, describing our students as diverse, incredibly creative and an absolute delight, and highlighting the musicality, inclusiveness and warmth that make St Canice’s so special. Our students (and staff!) had so much fun joining in, learning new skills, making music together and sharing plenty of smiles along the way. 🥁🎶 A huge THANK YOU, Emily, for bringing your energy, enthusiasm and joy to St Canice’s. We loved every minute of it! 🥰🫶 What a fantastic day of music, connection and fun! 💙💛
23 Sep 2026
From Facebook
What a privilege it was to have the wonderfully talented Emily Cooper from Hands, Heart and Feet visiting St Canice's last Monday. Emily was here to facilitate our African Drumming Circle incursion, working in the music room with Ms Frazer and every student from Kindy to Year 6, with the goal of developing our drumming skills. Our student set up crew were excited to discover Emily's van full to the brim with handmade djembes of varying sizes and tones for each student to use during their hour drumming session. The children had a fun and fabulous time discovering different percussion instruments from West Africa, as well as learning and playing new rhythmic phrases on the Djembes, and of course, making a whole heap of noise! Thank you, Emily, for inspiring every student at St Canice's with your positive energy and your addictive rhythms. #handsheartandfeet #africandrumming #africandrummingcircle #africandrummingworkshop #MusicMatters #stcaniceskatoomba #stcaniceskatoomba💙 #stcaniceskatoombamusic #stcaniceskatoomba💙🩵 #stcaniceskatoombapercussion #stcaniceskatoombapercussion🥁 #stcaniceskatoombarhythmreading